Review: Walking Tall

Directed by: Kevin Bray

Written by: David Klass, Channing Gibson, David Levien, Brian Koppelman

Starring: The Rock, Johnny Knoxville, Neal McDonough, Kristen Wilson, Ashley Scott

Rating: [2/5]

Not all films try to disguise their meaning or what they seek to accomplish because they never had the intention of being more than what they are on the surface. Walking Tall has no intention of trying to be anything more than quite the generic action movie for a wrestling star to continue his pivot into the world of acting. That does not excuse elements of the feature that do not work too well, which hilariously there are plenty. 

Returning to his hometown after a stint in the military, Chris Vaughn Jr (Dwayne Johnson) seeks to work at the local mill but sees it got shut down. As he gets reacquainted with everyone, he notices his town has fallen into complete debauchery as the economy completely centers on a corrupt casino owned by Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough). Refusing to let his town sink further into this hole, he decides to do something about it. 

You can smell the genericness of Walking Tall right from the opening frame and how it continues throughout as it takes us into this town and Chris goes about his days. You almost have to respect the amount of ridiculousness this feature wants us to believe within this fantasy of some awesome dude coming to save this town. We can begin with the comedic look at a lack of morality transpiring in the town since has returned. No only did the mill get shut down, it has been completely taken over now by this casino where inside they have crooked games, and scantily clad women dancing around. Good hard work has been thrown out for a rise in vices. Chris, obviously has to fix the issue but the way he goes about it feels quite illegal. 

For example, the man takes a 2×4 as his weapon of choice and begins destroying the casino and the security guards in the place. He has a justification because of what we learn these men have done to the community. However, when the court scene transpires, the unseriousness of this feature shows itself to such a ridiculous degree. We then get Chris taking over the role of sheriff, firing everyone and taking charge where instead of using a gun, he decides to utilize the same 2×4. The hubris to think he could run a local sheriff’s office with himself and his friend Ray (Johnny Knoxville). Yes, I’m giving away more than I should but these elements need to be discussed because the plot does not offer much of anything else to really analyze. 

Co-produced by WWE films, this film transparently seeks to elevate Dwayne Johnson as an action star. With this being his fifth feature film, you could tell he had plenty more to do to improve in the department of acting but he certainly brought the physical attributes this feature seeks to highlight. He enters the story with this hulking presence and he utilizes it to knock some people out in a physical manner. The moments where he needed to convey emotions really struggles, especially when not receiving the best help from his co-stars. This film laid it all on the shoulders of Dwayne Johnson, which feels quite bold during this particular stage of his career. 

As for a villain, we get Neal McDonough who was just born to play a villain. Nothing about looking at this man in any of his roles does it convey someone we can trust and my goodness does he get saddled with quite the thankless role. A completely empty villain whose evilness just jumps right off of the screen. He certainly gives what can be considered the best performance, which well and truly does not mean a thing when compared to the other actors involved. He must come across as someone who could be charming enough to win over the power he has within the community but also menacing enough that he can control a former sheriff to shoot up the police station to take out Chris in a truly wild set of events. 

Completely forgettable but something one can certainly have on in the background, Walking Tall never aspires to achieve more than what it does. In one sense, it can accrue respect for that reason but as a feature film, it just does not come across as competent. Thankfully it comes in with a forgivably short runtime but it never earns its welcome as what gets pieces together reeks of mediocrity throughout. Not the best work by anyone involved and they probably know it.